It’s been a few days since I’ve posted any pics. We traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to visit family and then made a one day stop in our favorite city, Chicago. I’m pretty sure I captured a few good pics.
Here is a pic from our travel to Madison’s Farmer’s Market. I’ve been to farmer’s markets before, but none of this size. It completely surrounded the state capitol. Here is a pic of one of the vegetable stands.
ISO 160 1/750’s f1.4 35mm summilux (Leica M9, Leica 35mm summilux, Aperture 3.3)
I enjoy capturing others taking pictures. Here’s a group getting their picture taken. I like the young lady trying to get the right angle and the guy nearest me telling everyone to hold up.
ISO 250 1/90’s f.95 50mm noctilux (Leica M9, Leica 50mm noctilux, Aperture, Silver Efex Pro 2)
I’ve taken previous shots from this location and always enjoy going back. I really like the large cloud. I think it adds to the picture.
ISO 160 f3.4 21mm super elmar
Another great place to visit at Millennium Park is Crown Fountain. If you haven’t visited, it’s 2 large video sculptures that periodically spray water. In the summer time, it’s typically full of kids playing and cooling off.
ISO 200 f4 Panasonic 7-14mm (7 frame handheld HDR)
If you are ever in Chicago and enjoy watching sunrises I highly suggest driving to Adler Planetarium. It is a great place to take cityscape shots. This one was taken just outside the planetarium entrance.
ISO 160 1/1500’s f.95 (ND filter) Leica 50mm noctilux
Believe it or not, it took me 20-30 shots before I got this just right. I wanted to make sure that the one light behind the post was centrally located or at least close. Rangefinder cameras currently don’t allow for live viewing and when looking through the viewfinder, you are not looking through the lens. Because of this, you have to move very slowly either left or right to get the image where you want it (I enjoy the challenge).
I used my Leica 50mm noctilux and neutral density filter for the shot. I then used Nik Color Efex to add the ambient colors. The depth of field is not artificially created (bokeh). You can thank the noctilux and it’s ability to shoot at f.95 for that.
ISO 160 1/4000’s f.95 50mm noctilux
I’m sure you are getting tired of Cloud Gate shots. This is my last in the series and also my favorite. This was taken with my Leica M9-P and 21mm super elmar. What I like about it is the amount of detail in the buildings (click on picture to see full-size). The 21mm super elmar was built for sharpness from corner to corner and this image is a perfect example of it.
ISO 1/125s f3.4 21mm super elmar (7 exposure HDR, edited with Photomatix, PS6, & Aperture)
Landscape and professional photographers know that if you want to capture great images you should shoot during the “magic hour” (or also known as the golden hour). This is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day.
During my recent trip to Chicago, I woke up early and headed down to Millennium Park to capture pictures of the sculpture Cloud Gate, also known as “The Bean”. I got there around 0530 and began shooting pictures. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay long since I was approached by a security guard (he was very nice) who alerted me that I wasn’t suppose to be there and that the park didn’t open up until 6. Luckily, I was able to capture a few shots.
Olympus OM-D and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm lens
ISO 200 f/8 7mm (7 exposure HDR, used HDR Efex 2, Photoshop CS6, & Aperture 3.3)
